


Painkiller

by LuthienLuinwe



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Green Arrow (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Angry Jason Todd, Child Neglect, Drug Use, Gen, Minor Character Death, Swearing, drug overdose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 11:21:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14933276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuthienLuinwe/pseuds/LuthienLuinwe
Summary: “Lian, sweetie?” Jason frowned and leaned against a brick wall for support. God, what had happened? There was no way in hell it could have been anything good. “It’s me. Sorry I missed your calls. What’s wrong?”Another sniff. God, he could have sworn he heard a sob in there too. “My daddy won’t wake up.”Roy non-lethally overdoses, and Jason has to take care of it.





	Painkiller

His phone had been ringing all patrol, but Jason had been too busy to answer it. It was only at one in the morning, when he’d finally gotten through to the criminals he’d been ‘negotiating,’ with that he bothered to check it. 

Six missed calls from Roy Harper.

He’d better be fucking dead if he was bothering Jason that much on a patrol night. Jason slipped down an alleyway and tapped the name with his finger, listening to it ring. Ring. Ring. Ring… God, he was going to tear into him. Roy had been ditching him and Kori, but Jason could understand that. The man had a daughter to look after, after all. But it was getting ridiculous.

Click.

He started to speak, but the voice on the other end didn’t belong to Roy. “Uncle Jay?” a small sniff. He felt his heart sink. Why was Lian calling him from Roy’s phone? Why was Lian awake at one in the God-damned morning?

_“Ms. Kyle?” Jason had been outside her door for at least an hour. He had knocked but no answer had come. It was dangerous for a kid to be out that late by himself in Crime Alley. But Ms. Kyle had told him to find her if he needed anything, if he ever had any trouble at home._

_“Jason?” the woman frowned and knelt down to his level. “What happened, sweetheart?”_

_“My mom’s dead.”_

“Lian, sweetie?” Jason frowned and leaned against a brick wall for support. God, what had happened? There was no way in hell it could have been anything good. “It’s me. Sorry I missed your calls. What’s wrong?”

Another sniff. God, he could have sworn he heard a sob in there too. “My daddy won’t wake up.”

Fuck.

That was bad.

That was very, very bad.

Had he gone on patrol with Ollie? Jason doubted it, the two had had yet another falling-out over God-only-knew what…

And then he pieced it together.

Roy was blowing him off. Roy was fighting with Ollie. Roy wasn’t waking up…

No.

Jason was going to kill him.

Jason was going to fucking kill him.

“Lian, sweetheart?” he asked, trying to keep his voice calm and even. Getting angry would just upset her. Upsetting her would make the situation thousands of times worse. He waited for a confirmation noise before continuing. “I’m on my way. But I need you to do everything I tell you to do, okay?”

* * *

Jason made it to Star City in record time, something he needed. Roy and Lian had moved and Roy hadn’t bothered to tell him, and Jason hadn’t found out until he’d knocked on the door of Roy’s old apartment only to be screamed at by an elderly woman. 

_He knew something was wrong even before he stepped out of his bedroom. She’d had a fight with her latest dealer. She was out of money. She needed drugs. He offered her another solution and she’d told him to go fuck himself, her kid was there God-dammit…_

_He knew something was wrong but he didn’t know what until he saw the cold, lifeless body, shoelace wrapped around her arm and a needle knocked to the side._

At least Roy hadn’t changed the spare key hiding spot. Jason slid the key into the lock and twisted it, waiting for the click before cracking the door open and stepping inside. He’d barely made it through the door when Lian latched onto his leg. “Hey sweetheart,” he greeted. “Where’s your dad at?”

Lian sniffed and pointed to the couch.

Roy was there, pushed onto his side just like Jason had told Lian to do. His skin was deathly pale and his red hair was stringy and clinging to his face. Jason could smell the vomit even before he saw it. He dropped his duffel bag of supplies onto the floor. “Go to bed, okay? I’ll take care of him.” He saw the hesitation in her eyes, and he couldn’t blame her for it. He sighed and knelt down to her level. “I won’t let anything bad happen to your daddy, okay?” he asked.

Lian sniffed and nodded, and Jason waited until he heard her door click shut before getting to work cleaning Roy up.

God, it was going to be a long night.

* * *

He watched as Roy stirred awake, and he thanked God that Lian was still in her room. He listened to Roy groan, crossed his arms, and waited. “What happened?”

“You’d better have a damned good reason for me not to call CPS right fucking now, Harper,” Jason had tried to be nice during Roy’s first round of drugs. He’d tried to be understanding and relate to him. But Roy had a kid now. And Jason knew exactly how it felt to be a kid in that kind of household.

“Was an accident…”

“The OD or the drugs?” Jason demanded and moved so he was in Roy’s face. “Because that’s one hell of an accident to tie off and shoot up, you know that? Your kid almost watched you die.”

“I didn’t…”

“Oh I’m sure you didn’t mean to,” Jason re-crossed his arms. “You never fucking mean to, Roy, but it still fucking happens. You don’t get to make those decisions anymore because I’m going to tell you what’s going to fucking happen next. You’re checking yourself into rehab. I’m taking care of Lian while you’re gone, and you’re going to get better and stay better because I’m not going to have to tell your daughter the reason her daddy didn’t come home, do you understand me?”

He watched as Roy carefully propped himself up on his elbows, and God, Jason wanted to punch some sense into him. “I understand.”

“And I swear to God, Harper,” Jason shook his head and moved so he was sat across from his once-best-friend. “If you ever pull another stunt like this again, you’d better hope to whoever the hell you pray to that the police find you before I do.”

* * *

Lian clung onto him tightly, and Jason couldn’t blame her for it at all. Hell, if his mom had lived, he doubted he would have wanted to go back. Jason ruffled her hair and watched the entrance to the rehab facility. Like hell was he going to let her step inside that place. “What’s wrong?”

“What if he gets sick again?” Lian sniffed and Jason sighed. He’d been careful not to use words like ‘drugs’ or ‘overdose’ around her. He sat cross-legged on the sidewalk and motioned for her to do the same, glad she wasn’t yet old enough to worry about looking stupid.

“Then you call me, just like last time, okay?” Jason asked and wondered what kind of twisted world it was that they lived in when kids had to worry about their parents. He hoped to God Roy would keep his promises that time. Lian deserved better than to live like Jason had. “Even if he’s not sick, you can call me for anything, okay?”

“Okay,” Lian nodded.

Jason watched the automatic doors open, and watches as Lian immediately ran over to Roy to hug him. God, he wished he could be half as forgiving as kids always seemed to be. He made eye-contact with Roy and watched as the redhead gave a half-nod.

He glanced at Lian and smiled, his smile broadening when she returned it, and he turned to leave, flipping his phone off of silent.

He never left it on silent again.


End file.
